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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deceptive Given his long frame, sure hands and deceptive quickness, McMillan’s game looks NFL-ready. Joseph Person, New York Times, 2 June 2025 Payment providers can face significant card brand penalties if they are found to facilitate deceptive behavior. Rochelle Blease, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025 Don't fall prey to deceptive marketing language and inflated MSRP prices—our tips only take a few moments. Louryn Strampe, Wired News, 12 June 2025 Ethics are now a bore since unethical behavior can always be papered over with tricks such as deceptive statistics and abstruse legal arguments. Cory Franklin, Twin Cities, 1 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for deceptive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deceptive
Adjective
  • Execution: With these tools in place, fraudsters can open fraudulent accounts, apply for loans and carry out high-value transactions, all while appearing completely legitimate.
    Parya Lotfi, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
  • This includes Amazon allowing small businesses to make multiple appeals when fighting a fraudulent return.
    Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 21 June 2025
Adjective
  • This was a false charge by the Bush administration, as the United Nations’ inspectors on the ground in Iraq tried to communicate to Bush, and as his intelligence agencies tried to tell him.
    Tom Zirpoli, Baltimore Sun, 24 June 2025
  • But an investigation resulted in an astonishing call from the other side of the world, which revealed that ‘The GPO Girl’ was, in fact, a 25-year-old Australian, who has created more than 100 false identities.
    Max Goldbart, Deadline, 24 June 2025
Adjective
  • In the back garden, for example, there’s a shady grove with hammocks and low seating that is one of the couple’s favorite places to enjoy quiet moments.
    Katia Contreras, Architectural Digest, 19 June 2025
  • Best Types of Hibiscus for Hummingbirds Hibiscus plants come in a range of options—from native perennials to tropical annuals—all of which attract hummingbirds and are suited for sunny to partly shady spaces, says Myers.
    Anne Readel, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 June 2025
Adjective
  • Avoid generic, spammy tactics, over-automation or dishonest ploys.
    Samuel Darwin, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
  • The reasons for such concerns start with the shockingly dishonest campaign for Proposition 1A, the 2008 state ballot measure allocating $9.95 billion in bond seed money for a network of bullet trains linking Los Angeles and San Francisco.
    U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2025
Adjective
  • What Pete Rose did was selfish, illicit, shameful, crooked.
    John Nogowski, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2025
  • Meanwhile, a crooked wayfarer named St. Christophe (Jackson) is hot on Broadway’s trail, catching up with the young man and revealing that his dead dad wasn’t, in fact, a stand-up guy.
    Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Deceptive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deceptive. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.

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